Energy Centurion:release, hijackers take some oil

Energy Centurion hijacked by pirates in Gulf of Guinea was released August 30, some 60 miles east of Lagos, Nigeria, and was steaming toward a "safe port."
The tanker held 57,000 tons of gas oil on board and about 3,000 tons was stolen by the pirates.
Isle of Man-registered hijacked tanker was shadowed by French, Nigerian Navy and US air carrier [LHD? LSD?]was said ready to assist.    


Vessel's name: Energy Centurion
Ex-name(s): Not Applicable IMO number: 9387970
Flag: Isle of Man Call sign:
Port of Registry: Douglas Summer DWT: 0 MT
Type of vessel: Built: Aug 22, 2008
Type of hull: Owner:
Class Society: Det Norske Veritas Operator: Enterprises Shipping & Trading S.A

Thor Liberty: loaded missiles at Papenburg

The ship carrying missiles bound for South Korea that was detained in Finland over Christmas has run into more problems at the port of Kiel in Germany. The ship's crew is once again facing questions over secure storage of its cargo.
A representative of Kiel police told local media January 12 that they are inspecting the explosives in containers onboard. The same issue caused a lengthy inspection and re-loading operation at Kotka harbour.
[earlier]Reloading of explosives onboard the impounded Thor Liberty vessel in Kotka resumed on Sunday. Rescue officials say the operation could continue well into December 26. More of the poorly loaded explosives were confiscated on Sunday but work is proceeding without any major problems. So far some 250 kilos of explosives have been confiscated from the ship and will be destroyed later.

The “Thor Liberty,” belonging to a Danish company, flying a British Isle of Man flag, and manned by a Ukrainian crew, was stopped Wednesday during a routine check at the southern Finnish port of Kotka. German media reports say the missiles were marked as “fireworks.”

The high-tech weapons were reportedly loaded onto the ship at Papenburg, on the River Eems, 40km inland from the North Sea, not far from Vörden, once a a Nike Hercules AA missile site.. The export permission documents were registered at the customs office in Emden, in the state of Lower Saxony. back

Thor Liberty: 69 missiles to South Korea Okay

The paperwork of the freight vessel Thor Liberty, which was found to have explosives and missiles on board when it docked at Kotka Harbour, is in order, said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
On Wednesday, Minister of the Interior Päivi Räsänen (Christ. Dem.) was still saying that the bill of lading claimed that the containers, which were loaded with Patriot ground-to-air missiles, had been labelled as fireworks.
However, it came out later that this was a linguistic misunderstanding involving the words “rocket” and “missile”.
“There was no attempt in the documents to mislead in any way”, says Detective Superintendent Timo Virtanen of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Seoul (AFP) Dec 20, 2006 As part of its independent system South Korea has announced plans to buy 48 second-hand Patriot missiles from Germany from 2008. It also wants ground control equipment for the Patriots from the US.

[December 22] A Isle of Man-flag cargo vessel detained at Kotka harbour has been found to be carrying a shipment of American-made Patriot missiles. According to information received by YLE, the missile shipment originated in Germany and is destined for South Korea. Onboard the ship are 69 of the missiles with their explosive warheads and propelling charges
sale of missiles to South Korea
SEOUL (AFP) Jul 13, 2005
A German defense chief met with South Korean officials here Wednesday for talks on the sale of second-hand Patriot missiles to Seoul, the defense ministry said.
Klaus Von Sperber, director of international armament affairs in Germany's defense ministry, visited Defense Miniser Yoon Kwang-Ung and other Korean military officials, Yoon's office said.

Sperber arrived here earlier Wednesday for a two-day trip.

"The German official is in Seoul for talks on the sale of Patriot missiles deployed in his country," a ministry official said.

South Korea last week revived a project to buy Patriot missiles, but a decision on whether to buy missiles directly from the United States or second-hand ones from other countries has yet to be taken.

From next year, South Korea hopes to replace its aging ground-to-air Nike missiles, introduced 40 years ago, with Patriot missiles.

The South Korean military had planned to buy 48 Patriot missiles from the United States in 2000, but the plan was scrapped because of a dispute over the cost. read
Name: Thor Liberty
IMO: 9065273
Flag: Isle Of Man (uk)
MMSI: 235218000
Callsign: ZNGT5
Former name(s):
- Cec Liberty (Until 2009 Oct 28)
- White Rhino (Until 2008 Nov 06)
- Cec Liberty (Until 2007 Dec 03)
- Cec Hope (Until 2002 Nov 28)
- Cic Hope (Until 2001 Nov 21)
- Arktis Hope (Until 2000 Jan 04)
Flag Isle of Man / Douglas. Built 1994 / Nordsoevaerfet Ringkobing (DK) Ex CEC Hope; CEC Liberty; White Rhino; Arktis Hope. GT 3810 tdw 5392 TEU 350 L 97,4 B 16,36 D 6,72 Propulsion 1 x MaK 9 M 453 C 2996 kw / 600 rpm; 2 x MTU S 60 344 kw / 1800 rpm; shaft generator 540 kw; CPP; speed 14 ktn. Gear 2 x 50 t.

back